Fresh findings have cast doubt on claims by some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State that former State Vice Chairman for Okigwe Zone, Chief Chuks Ajaelu, resigned from the party to escape disciplinary sanctions.
Investigations by INNONEWS revealed that Ajaelu’s resignation was principally triggered by what he and several party stakeholders described as sustained intimidation, political victimization and high-handed conduct allegedly perpetrated by the Imo PDP leadership under the chairmanship of Austin Nwachukwu.
Sources familiar with developments within the party told INNONEWS that attempts to portray Ajaelu’s exit as a response to disciplinary proceedings were misleading and inconsistent with the circumstances that preceded his resignation. According to the sources, Ajaelu had repeatedly expressed concerns over what he considered a shrinking democratic space within the party and the alleged marginalization of dissenting voices.
Political observers note that Ajaelu’s decision to quit the PDP came as a surprise to many party faithful, given his long-standing relationship with the party. A founding member of the PDP since its formation in 1998, he has remained within the party throughout its history and has never defected to any other political platform despite several waves of defections that affected the party over the years.
His family is also widely regarded as one of the pillars upon which the PDP was built and sustained in Imo State. Sources recalled that when the PDP was formed in 1998, its first state secretariat in Owerri was located at No. 9 Mbari Street, an office provided and paid for by the Ajaelu family. The party reportedly operated from the facility for about two years before relocating to its office at Okigwe Road.
The contributions of the family to the growth of the PDP in Imo State date back to the party’s formative years. The late High Chief J.P.K. Ajaelu served as the first Deputy Chairman of the PDP in Imo State and later became Acting Chairman following the suspension of Late Chief I. D. Nwoga. Party records indicate that J.P.K. Ajaelu played a key role in leading and stabilizing the PDP ahead of the 1999 governorship election, which produced Chief Achike Udenwa as Governor of Imo State.
Sources further pointed to the political and financial investments made by Chief Kizzy Ajaelu, elder brother of Chief Chuks Ajaelu and a recognized leader of the PDP in Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area. According to party stakeholders, Chief Kizzy Ajaelu consistently funded party activities in the council area over the years and spent several millions of naira supporting the party’s operations and electoral activities.
The source further disclosed that in recent times, Chief Kizzy Ajaelu purchased nomination forms for all ward and local government executive officers of the party in Ihitte-Uboma, a move that was widely interpreted as part of efforts to strengthen the PDP’s grassroots structure in the area.
Against this backdrop, associates of the former vice chairman insist that the claim that he resigned to evade disciplinary action does not reflect the realities on the ground. Rather, they maintain that his exit, alongside the withdrawal of support by key members of his political family, stemmed from growing dissatisfaction with what they described as intimidation, blackmail, exclusion and disregard for party Constitution and established party traditions by the current leadership.
Meanwhile, INNONEWS gathered that Chief Chuks Ajaelu is preparing to address a world press conference in the coming days, where he is expected to respond to allegations surrounding his resignation, provide documentary evidence of his stewardship and family contributions to the PDP, and offer what associates describe as a detailed account of the circumstances that compelled him to end nearly three decades of unwavering membership of the party.
